Facebook TikTok test will open app to full-screen video
Facebook will test a video-first app opening later this year as Meta tries to keep users from rival social platforms.
By Maya Lindqvist · Senior Technology Correspondent
3 min read
Facebook is preparing a Facebook TikTok test that would open the app directly into full-screen video for some users, Facebook head Tom Alison said. The shift matters because Meta is trying to keep attention on its original social network as rivals build large audiences around video.
Alison said Facebook will begin testing what he called a “reimagined experience” later this year. Under the test, selected users would see “full-screen video the moment they open the app,” according to Alison.
The test will start in countries where Facebook has identified a strong preference for video, Alison said. The Verge reported that Facebook could expand the experiment to the United States next year.
What is Facebook testing?
Facebook is testing an app-opening experience that puts video in front of users immediately, instead of sending them first to a more traditional feed. Alison said Facebook sees video as a place where conversations, communities and commerce are increasingly taking place.
The change would bring Facebook closer to the format associated with TikTok, where full-screen short videos dominate the main experience. Meta already made a similar competitive move on Instagram when it launched Reels in 2020, according to The Verge.
Why is Meta changing Facebook now?
Meta does not report separate user totals for each of its apps, The Verge noted. The company’s own data showed Meta’s platforms collectively lost 20 million users in the first quarter of 2026, according to The Verge.
Facebook remains widely ranked as the largest social platform in the world, The Verge reported, while YouTube is close behind and TikTok has grown quickly. TikTok passed 1 billion monthly users three years after launch, according to The Verge, faster than Facebook reached that mark.
The video test marks a change in tone from comments Alison made in 2022. At that time, Alison told The Verge he saw TikTok as chasing Facebook, not Facebook chasing TikTok.
Facebook is also adding Marketplace and Groups spinoffs
Facebook is making other changes that borrow from familiar internet services, according to The Verge. The company is launching Seller, a separate app for Marketplace sellers that lets them track performance, handle listings and message buyers.
The Verge also reported that Facebook launched Forum earlier this year for Facebook Groups. Forum gives group members a dedicated place to interact, a format The Verge compared to Reddit’s subreddit communities.
Facebook is also changing how verification works for users, according to The Verge. Meta Verified remains a paid subscription that starts at $11.99 a month, but Facebook says it is adding a free verified badge through a selfie verification process.
Facebook says the free badge is meant to show that a profile is tied to a real person, according to The Verge. The company is making that change while it continues to sell paid verification through Meta Verified.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.